Lesson 4: Ethic Minorities in Neo-Conservative Britain (1979-1997) Flashcards
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.1. The 1981 British Nationality Act and the 1988 Immigration Act
Why did the 1981 British Nationality Act repeal the British Nationality Act of 1948?
- General agreement that nationality legislation had become too complex.
- Bringing nationality and immigration legislation more in line
- Election pledge
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.1. The 1981 British Nationality Act and the 1988 Immigration Act
What were the dispositions of the 1981 British Nationality Act?
Created three categories of citizenship (= former CUKCs):
- British citizenship
- British Dependent Territories Citizenship (BDTC)
- British Overseas Citizenship
Only the first had the “right of abode” (as defined in 1971 Immigration Act):
- Unconditional right to live, work and study in the UK
- Entitlement to apply for UK social security and welfare benefits
- Right to vote and stand for public office in the UK
- Non-British citizens could have indefinite/permanent leave to remain (could apply for benefits, but could be repatriated or barred from re-entry).
British citizenship defined through combination of birth (jus solis) and descent (jus sanguinis):
- A child born in the UK only acquires British citizenship from birth if at least one of his or her parents are British citizens or have permanent leave to remain.
- Children born in the UK from non-British citizens acquire British citizenship as minors if parent(s) become(s) British citizen(s) or permanent resident(s) or if continued residence of 10 years.
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.1. The 1981 British Nationality Act and the 1988 Immigration Act
What was the criticism of the 1981 British Nationality Act?
- Presented as the culmination of a racialisation process (Solomon 1993, MacDonald and Blake 1995, Paul 1997)
- Important limitation to jus solis
- Hansen opposes the “racialisation school”:
- -> British nationality law remains more liberal than most other developed countries (except for Ireland, the USA, Canada and Australia)
- -> Naturalisation rules similar to other European countries: possible for immigrants to apply for permanent residence after 4 years’ residence in the UK and for citizenship after 5.
- -> The new restrictions applied to all residents regardless of colour or country of origin.
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.1. The 1981 British Nationality Act and the 1988 Immigration Act
What were the restrictions on family reunification?
- The “primary purpose rule” introduced in 1980:
- -> For a person to be reunited with their spouse, had to prove separately that they intended to live together and that the purpose of the marriage was not to obtain admission in the UK
- The 1988 Immigration Act terminated entitlement to family reunification:
- -> Proof of adequate accommodation and sufficient means necessary for permanent and citizens to exert their right to family reunification.
- -> Criticised for indirect bias against New Commonwealth migrants
- British law particularly restrictive:
- -> Constitutional reasons: strong executive and no bill of rights
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.2. From Commonwealth Migrants to Asylum Seekers and Illegal Migrants
Overview
Increasing focus on asylum seekers and illegal migrants by the media and the government.
Cracking down on illegal immigration
- Visa controls on visitors from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana (Immigration Act 1986)
- “Carrier’s liability” introduced in 1987:
=> Airplane and maritime companies to check the validity of travellers’ documents prior to boarding for the UK. Fine doubled to £2,000 in 1991.
- 1996 Asylum and Immigration Bill:
=> Employers made responsible for checking the immigration status of their employees.
- Neo-Conservative Immigration Policy
1.2. From Commonwealth Migrants to Asylum Seekers and Illegal Migrants
What were the restrictions on asylum policy?
- From the 1980s, fewer refugees welcomed in the UK than in France and Germany
- Stable number of refugees accepted in the UK in spite of a pan-European increase in the number of applications for asylum
- Appeal rights restricted for asylum seekers (1993 and 1996 Asylum and Immigration Appeals Acts)
- Making Britain less attractive: refugees barred from some benefits from 1996
- Integration in Question
2. 1. The Permanence of Racial Inequalities
- By 1991, over 47% of ethnic minorities in Britain had been born in the UK.
- Increased inequalities among the British society and among ethnic groups under Thatcher:
–> Ethnic minorities more likely to be working class => more strongly hit by deindustrialisation
–> Ethnic minorities generally less well-off; Thatcher’s economic, social and fiscal policies hit the poor more the most.
–> Some did benefit, though (cf. My Beautiful Laundrette) - Inequalities among ethnic minority groups:
–> Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and West Indians: more discrimination and fewer opportunities than Chinese and Indians - Inequalities in employment: job levels
–> Influence of discrimination: white job applicants over 30% more likely to be treated favourably by employers than ethnic minorities (cf. Brown & Gay, Racial Discrimination, 17 years after the Act, 1985) - Inequalities in education: Causes of the underachievement of some ethnic groups:
–> Social factors (class, occupation, education of the parents)
–> A “school effect” / “school racism” (Mirza 1992):
Stereotypes of blacks as disruptive underachievers
Stereotypes of South Asian girls as passive
- Integration in Question
2. 2. Assimilationism in Education Policy
Thatcher and Education:
- Education Secretary in the Heath government
- Opposed to any form of multiculturalism or cultural pluralism in schools
- Supported an assimilationist policy: British, Christian values at the centre
Two reports advocated cultural pluralism to encourage educational success for ethnic minority children:
- Bullock report (1975): No kid should have to abandon his/her mother tongue and native culture on arrive at school.
- Swann report (1985): Importance to avoid ethno-centrism
Education Reform Act 1988:
- Daily act of worship of a “broadly Christian” character
- Emphasis placed on British history:
–> Cf. Sir Geoffrey Elton, 1986: ““Schools need more English history, more kings and bishops”. He also considered that “the non-existent history of ethnic minorities and women leads to incoherent syllabuses”. (quoted in Panayi, 2010)
Multicultural policies developed at local level in councils held by Labour:
- Urdu classes
- Recognition of Hindu, Muslim or Sikh celebrations.
- Integration in Question
2.3. Policing, Ethnic Tensions and Urban Unrest
Which riots were there in the 1980s and 1990s?
Episodes of rioting in inner cities during the 1980s and 1990s (involved young members of ethnic minority communities and white youths)
- 2 april 1980: St. Pauls riot, Bristol
- Summer of 1981: Brixton, London; Handsworth, Birmingham; Southall, London; Toxteth, Liverpool; Hyson Green, Nottingham; Moss Side, Manchester.
- Sept.-Oct. 1985: Brixton, London; Toxteth, Liverpool; Peckham, London; Broadwater Farm, Tottenham, London.
- 1995: Brixton, London
- Integration in Question
2.3. Policing, Ethnic Tensions and Urban Unrest
What were the explanations for the riots?
Explanations for the riots
- For the government: outbursts of criminal activity
- Radical community groups: legitimate insurrections against an oppressive and racist state.
The Scarman Report (1981)
- Public enquiry into the riots of 1981 commissioned by Home Secretary William Whitelaw
- Pinpointed the attitude of the police:
–> Disproportionate use of “strip and search” powers against black people
–> High levels of economic and social deprivation in inner cities.
- Integration in Question
2.3. Policing, Ethnic Tensions and Urban Unrest
What was the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984?
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984:
- New code for police behaviour
- Creation of an independent Police Complaints Authority (established in 1985)
Yet, not much changed then, as was later revealed by the Macpherson Report (1999)
- Recommendations of the Scarman Report ignored
- Institutional racism in the police forces
Examples of discriminatory handling of racial incidents by the police (cf. Esteves 2011, p. 126)
- Integration in Question
2. 4. Political Attitudes among Ethnic Minorities
Ethnic minorities more active and more visible in British politics
- Culmination of the Black politics of the 1960s-1970s
Support for the Labour Party:
- Inner-city, working-class electorate
- Labour’s commitment to anti-discrimination legislation
- 1987: 67% of Asians and 86% of African Caribbeans voted Labour (poll)
Electoral sucess for Asian and Black politicians:
- 1987: 4 Black and Asian MPs in Westminster, all for Labour (Black sections)
- Black and Asian Mayors elected in the 1980s.
- Integration in Question
2.5. Diasporic Identities: My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Overview
- Film directed by Stephen Frears, screenplay by Hanif Kureishi
- Intended for television release: commissioned by Channel 4
- Budget of £600,000.
- Hanif Kureishi:
- -> Born in 1954 from English mother and Pakistani father (migrated to Britain from Pakistan, but family in Madras until Partition)
- -> Educated in King’s College, London
- -> Also novelist, film director, playwright, …
- Film finally released on cinema after acclaimed at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
- -> Critical, popular and international success
- -> Much attention from academic circles
- Black and Asian cinema:
- -> Connexion to Black politics and activism
- -> Horace Ové, Pressure (1975)
- -> The Black workshop movement: African Caribbean and Asian filmmakers producing radical, low-budget film
- -> Encouraged by Channel 4 from 1982
- -> Udayan Prasad: ‘My Beautiful Laundrette: showed that films with Asians in them could make money.’
- Integration in Question
2.5. Diasporic Identities: My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
What was the representation of racism in MBL?
- Many references; strong impact on almost all Pakistani characters, in different ways.
- Brutal representation of the violence of far-right groups
- Yet: no victimization of the Asian community
- Integration in Question
2.5. Diasporic Identities: My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
What was the representation of South Asians?
- Film criticised for recycling stereotypes of Asians: cf. Mahmoud Jamal: MBL expressed “all the prejudices that this society has felt about Asians and Jews – that they are money grabbing, scheming, sex-crazed people”; he criticized Kureishi as an Asian intellectual “laundered by the British university system [who] reinforce stereotypes of their own people for a few, cheap laughs” (quoted in Geraghty 2004, 20)
- Also criticised for providing an unbalanced depiction of the Asian community: cf. Keith Vaz: no poor Asians in the films
- Kureishi’s response: refused to be “a spokesman for the Asian community” (quoted in Geraghty 2004, 21)
- Kobena Mercer: black film-makers should be allowed to free themselves from the ‘burden of representation’
